Congo - Kinshasa: Country Report | 2024

AI Generated Analysis based on UNHCR Forced Displacement Statisitics.

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Executive Summary

Key Trends: Democratic Republic of the Congo 2024

A world in turmoil finds one of its most acute epicenters in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). As of 2024, the nation confronts a staggering humanitarian emergency, with the total population of concern reaching 7.4 million. This figure represents not just a statistic, but a profound human tragedy defined by relentless instability and a widening gap between urgent needs and available resources.

A Surge in Internal Displacement The crisis is overwhelmingly characterized by internal hemorrhaging. Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) now number 6.9 million, accounting for 93 per cent of the total displaced population. The trajectory is alarming: between 2023 and 2024 alone, the IDP population surged by over 653,000 individuals. This escalation is driven by conflict and insecurity, trapping millions in cycles of flight and attempted return. The demographic profile of this population is critically vulnerable, skewed heavily toward women and children who face heightened risks of gender-based violence and exploitation, demanding an immediate, protection-centric response.

Shared Responsibility in a Crisis of Proximity Despite facing its own profound internal upheavals, the DRC continues to shoulder significant responsibility as a host nation. The country provides sanctuary to a refugee population dominated by arrivals from neighboring countries, including over 206,000 individuals primarily from the Central African Republic. This underscores a “crisis of proximity,” where the burden of displacement is borne not by distant nations, but by the DRC and its immediate neighbors in the Great Lakes region. The asylum system remains under immense strain, grappling with administrative bottlenecks and a divergence between rising applications and decision-making capacity.

Fragile Solutions and the Resource Gap While there has been a notable rebound in durable solutions—reaching a mean volume of approximately 594,000 in 2024—this progress remains precarious. Projections for 2025 indicate a potential decline in solution volumes, suggesting that recent gains are not self-sustaining. The disparity between the sheer scale of displacement and the resources available to address it is stark. Without renewed political will and sustained international funding, the DRC risks becoming a forgotten emergency where millions are left without a path to safety or dignity.

Population Overview

Democratic Republic of the Congo

As of 2024, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remains the epicenter of one of the world’s most severe and complex displacement crises. The data reveals a staggering total of 7.4 million individuals of concern, a figure that underscores the profound volatility affecting the region. Behind these stark numbers lies a humanitarian landscape overwhelmingly defined by internal displacement; Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) now account for approximately 93 percent of the total population of concern, numbering 6.9 million individuals.

The trajectory of this crisis is alarming. Between 2023 and 2024, the data indicates a massive surge in internal displacement, with the IDP population growing by over 653,000 individuals. This constitutes a significant escalation compared to minor decreases observed in smaller population groups, reinforcing that the humanitarian situation is primarily driven by internal conflict and instability. This rising tide of displacement is not static; historical analysis from 2019 to 2024 highlights a volatile environment characterized by simultaneous flight and attempted return. While displacement figures have peaked at new highs, the data also records substantial movements of returned IDPs, averaging 1.67 million. This fluidity suggests a precarious reality where millions are trapped in cycles of displacement, unable to find durable solutions.

Demographically, the displaced population reflects acute vulnerability. The age and gender distribution skews towards females, who outnumber males across the majority of age categories and represent the largest single demographic cohort. This prevalence of women and children—who face heightened risks of gender-based violence and exploitation—signals an urgent need for protection-centric funding and programming.

Furthermore, despite its own internal upheavals, the DRC continues to shoulder a significant responsibility as a host country. The nation hosts a refugee population that is heavily concentrated by origin; the leading country of origin alone accounts for approximately 206,000 people, overshadowing other groups. Ultimately, the sheer scale of the 6.9 million IDPs, combined with the complex needs of refugees and returnees, reveals a widening gap between the magnitude of the emergency and the resources available to address it.

Demographics

AI Insight: Treemap of Population of Concern in Dem. Rep. of the Congo, where a single category (6.9 million) overwhelmingly dominates the total 7.4 million individuals., A treemap visualization displays the distribution of the 7,424,000 individuals of concern in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as of 2024. The data is categorized into 7 distinct population types. The visual distribution is extremely skewed: the largest category contains 6,905,511 individuals, accounting for approximately 93% of the total population. In contrast, the remaining six groups are significantly smaller, with a 75th percentile of roughly 259,000 and a median value of only 82. This disparity results in a chart where one large rectangle occupies nearly the entire space, while other categories appear as minute sections.

AI Insight: Population pyramid of age and gender distribution for over 34.7 million displaced individuals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as of 2024, where females (mean 10.4%) slightly outnumber males (mean 9.6%) across five age categories., The visualization is a population pyramid representing the demographic breakdown of 34,788,317 individuals comprising Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Internally Displaced Persons (IDP), and other populations of concern in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As of 2024, the dataset features 100% gender disaggregation. The data is divided into five age categories (typically 0-4, 5-11, 12-17, 18-59, and 60+ in UNHCR reporting). The statistical profile indicates a demographic skew towards females: female population proportions across age groups average 10.4% with a range of 2.0% to 22.6%, whereas male proportions average 9.6% with a range of 1.7% to 18.1%. The largest single demographic cohort represented in the data is female (22.6%).

Geography & Movements

Geography & Movements: The Democratic Republic of the Congo

The 2024 statistical profile of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) reveals a complex humanitarian emergency characterized by a dual narrative of profound internal instability and regional interdependence. Behind the stark numbers lies a reality where the burden of displacement is overwhelmingly contained within national borders and the immediate Great Lakes region, challenging the perception of a widely distributed global refugee crisis.

The data reveals that the magnitude of displacement is hyper-concentrated. While the geospatial footprint of displaced Congolese appears expansive, covering 104 geographic units, the volume of movement tells a different story. The vast majority of the population of concern—nearly 6.9 million individuals—remains trapped within the DRC as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). This internal dislocation dwarfs cross-border movements, creating a distribution that is heavily right-skewed. To put this disparity into perspective, while the crisis epicenter hosts millions, the median destination country hosts only 104 individuals, and 75 percent of hosting nations care for fewer than 1,200 people. This constitutes a crisis of proximity, where safety is sought in the nearest available haven rather than distant shores.

Furthermore, the DRC serves simultaneously as a major country of origin and a critical sanctuary for neighbors in distress. Despite facing its own internal hemorrhaging, the country continues to host significant refugee populations. Analysis of inflow data highlights that the DRC’s refugee population is dominated by arrivals from a single neighboring origin—likely the Central African Republic—accounting for over 206,000 individuals. This figure stands in sharp contrast to the mean inflow of approximately 51,700, illustrating that the protection landscape is defined by specific, high-volume corridors of flight rather than a generalized influx.

Longitudinal trends from 2019 to 2025 further underscore the entrenchment of this internal crisis. The alluvial flows demonstrate that while external refugee numbers from countries like Rwanda remain relatively static in the 100,000 to 200,000 range, the trajectory of internal displacement has surged, consistently dwarfing all other categories. This widening gap between internal needs and external solutions highlights the immense pressure on local host communities, who absorb the shock of a displacement crisis that is massive in scale yet geographically contained.

AI Insight: Choropleth map showing destination countries for people from the Dem. Rep. of the Congo in 2024, where the distribution is extremely skewed: a single location (likely the DRC itself due to IDPs) hosts over 6.9 million people, while the median hosting country contains only 104 individuals., A geospatial visualization depicting the global distribution of displaced populations (Refugees, Asylum-seekers, IDPs, and others) from the Democratic Republic of the Congo as of 2024. The map utilizes country boundaries (GeomSf) to display population counts.

Statistical Profile: - Data Coverage: Out of 241 geographic units defined, 104 contain displacement data, while 137 are missing values (implying zero or unrecorded populations). - Distribution: The data is heavily right-skewed. The maximum value is 6,905,511, which likely represents Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) remaining within the DRC. In contrast, the global mean is approximately 77,900, but this is inflated by the outlier. - Key Quartiles: - Minimum: 5 people. - 25th Percentile: ~17 people. - Median: 104 people. - 75th Percentile: 1,104 people.

Key Insight: The visualization highlights a massive disparity in displacement. While the crisis affects a wide geographic area, the volume is hyper-concentrated. The vast majority of the population of concern remains within the country of origin or immediate region, while 75% of destination countries host fewer than 1,200 individuals.

Origin of Displaced Populations

AI Insight: Bar chart of the top 9 countries of origin for refugees in the Dem. Rep. of the Congo (2024), where a single origin country dominates with over 206,000 people compared to a mean of approximately 51,700., This chart depicts the number of refugees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo broken down by their top 9 countries of origin in 2024. The visualization uses a bar chart format with associated text labels and point markers. Statistical analysis of the 10 data rows (representing the top countries plus likely an ‘Other’ category) reveals a highly skewed distribution. The largest group accounts for 206,177 individuals, significantly pulling the mean (51,740) upward. In contrast, the median value is only 402, and the 25th percentile is 54.5, indicating that while there are massive populations from one or two specific origins (represented by the upper quartiles), the remaining countries in this ‘top’ list contribute relatively small numbers of refugees. The high standard deviation of 83,719 confirms this substantial disparity between the primary countries of origin and the others listed.

AI Insight: Alluvial diagram of forcibly displaced population origins in the Dem. Rep. of the Congo (2019-2025), where the data is heavily skewed by a massive internal displacement figure reaching nearly 6.9 million, dwarfing external refugee flows from countries like the Central African Republic and Rwanda., The chart is an alluvial diagram titled ‘Dem. Rep. of the Congo: Evolution of Forcibly Displaced Population Origin’, displaying population flows from 2019 to 2025. The Y-axis measures the number of people, while the flows represent four specific countries of origin: Central African Republic (Cen), Democratic Republic of the Congo (Dem), Rwanda (Rwa), and Others (Oth).

Statistical analysis of the 28 data points reveals a massive disparity in population sizes. The values range from a minimum of roughly 102,600 to a maximum of over 6.9 million. The median value is approximately 208,162, while the mean is much higher at 1.5 million with a standard deviation of 2.4 million. This distribution indicates that one category—likely the ‘Dem’ origin representing Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)—accounts for the extreme high-end values (peaking near 7 million), while the other three categories (CAR, Rwanda, Others) cluster around the 100,000 to 200,000 range. The data is complete across all 7 years.

Destination

AI Insight: Bar chart of top 10 destination countries for displaced people from the Dem. Rep. of the Congo in 2024, where the distribution is heavily skewed by one dominant destination (approx. 70 million) compared to a median of 1.55 million., This bar chart displays the top 10 destination countries for forcibly displaced populations originating from the Democratic Republic of the Congo as of 2024. The statistical profile reveals a highly right-skewed dataset. While the median number of displaced people per destination is approximately 1.55 million, and the interquartile range lies between 1.18 million and 2.72 million, the maximum value is an extreme outlier at roughly 69.9 million. This outlier pulls the mean (8.84 million) significantly higher than the median, as visually confirmed by the histogram which shows a single massive bar alongside empty intervals. This suggests that the top category (likely a total aggregate or including internally displaced persons) vastly outnumbers specific cross-border asylum destinations.

Asylum System

Asylum Systems: Capacity Under Strain in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The asylum landscape in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) reflects the volatility of a region gripped by overlapping crises. Functioning simultaneously as a critical host for refugees and a major country of origin, the DRC’s asylum system faces dual pressures that underscore the fragility of existing protection mechanisms. Behind the stark numbers lies a narrative of a system struggling to keep pace with the magnitude of displacement, where administrative bottlenecks often delay the delivery of life-saving protection.

Data covering the period from 2019 to 2024 reveals a highly volatile operational environment. While the median activity level remained near 8,400 cases, the system experienced extreme fluctuations, driven by sudden escalations in regional conflict that pushed peak application volumes to nearly 46,000 in a single year. This unpredictability has compounded the burden on administrative capacities. A growing divergence between cumulative applications and first-instance decisions—projected to persist through 2026—illustrates a widening processing gap. This backlog signifies not merely a statistical delay, but a prolonged period of uncertainty for thousands of asylum seekers waiting in limbo for a determination on their status.

The complexity of the decision-making ecosystem is further highlighted by the 2024 flow of Refugee Status Determination (RSD). While over 86,000 decisions were processed, the data reveals a polarized protection landscape. Among the top ten countries of origin, recognition rates varied drastically from a low of 1.2 per cent to a high of 99.7 per cent. This disparity suggests that while the system offers near-universal protection to specific populations fleeing evident persecution, it applies rigorous scrutiny to others, creating a bifurcated reality for those seeking safety.

The inconsistency of protection extends to Congolese nationals seeking asylum abroad. For the thousands of DRC citizens fleeing outward, the likelihood of receiving refugee status is heavily dependent on their destination. In 2024, recognition rates for Congolese nationals across major host countries ranged from 14.7 per cent to 88.9 per cent. This variance exposes the lack of a harmonized global response to the crisis in the DRC, leaving displaced populations vulnerable to differing interpretations of their protection needs. Ultimately, these trends emphasize the urgent necessity for sustained support to enhance the efficiency and fairness of asylum procedures, ensuring that the right to seek asylum is preserved amidst rising global challenges.

AI Insight: Bar chart of asylum applications and decisions in Dem. Rep. of the Congo (2019-2024), where figures fluctuate significantly with a peak count of 45,885 and a median of roughly 8,400., The visualization represents asylum data for the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 2019 to 2024, categorized by three distinct asylum stages. The chart is likely a grouped or stacked bar chart displaying the ‘Total’ count on the Y-axis against the ‘year’ on the X-axis.

Statistical analysis highlights significant variability in the volume of applications and decisions over the six-year period. The dataset comprises 18 observations (3 categories across 6 years). The total figures range widely from a minimum of 10 to a maximum of 45,885. The distribution is heavily right-skewed, indicated by a mean (12,926) that is significantly higher than the median (8,391) and a large standard deviation (15,263). This suggests that while most years or categories see moderate activity (around 4,000 to 11,000), there are specific instances of extremely high volume—likely spikes in new applications or major decision releases in specific years.

AI Insight: A parallel sets plot of refugee status determination decisions in the Dem. Rep. of the Congo (2024), visualizing the categorical flow and breakdown of 86,627 decisions across three distinct procedural or administrative stages., This chart is a parallel sets plot (also known as an alluvial diagram) depicting the flow of Refugee Status Determination (RSD) decisions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for the year 2024. The visualization represents a total dataset of 86,627 decisions.

The plot maps relationships between categorical variables, organized across 3 distinct axes or stages (variable ‘x’) containing 9 unique categories (variable ‘y’). The width of the flow lines is determined by the numeric variable ‘n’, representing the volume of decisions.

Statistical analysis of the flow segments reveals a highly skewed distribution (Standard Deviation: 11,844). While the average flow segment contains approximately 5,414 decisions, the maximum single flow volume is 46,329. This suggests that the majority of decisions follow a dominant pathway or result in a primary outcome, while the remaining decisions are distributed across smaller, less frequent procedural paths. The data comprises 48 unique flow combinations, highlighting the complexity of the decision-making ecosystem.

AI Insight: Area chart of cumulative asylum applications and decisions in the DR Congo (2020–2026), where the horizontal gap between the two flows illustrates the average processing time delay., A statistical visualization titled ‘Average Processing Time from Asylum Registration to First Instance Decision’ depicts the efficiency of the asylum system in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The chart uses an area plot to compare two cumulative variables: asylum applications and first-instance decisions.

The X-axis represents the timeline from 2020 through projections to 2026, while the Y-axis represents the cumulative total of cases. The dataset consists of 14 observations with cumulative counts ranging from a minimum of 8,612 to a maximum of 80,021, showing a steady upward trend over time (Mean: ~51,939).

Graphically, the horizontal distance between the ‘Applications’ curve and the ‘Decisions’ curve represents the processing time (the ‘gap’ measured in days). Text annotations and segments identify specific gap durations as of 2024, highlighting the lag between when an asylum seeker registers and when a decision is rendered.

Recognition Rates

AI Insight: Bar chart showing 2024 refugee recognition rates for the top 10 countries of origin in the Dem. Rep. of the Congo. Rates are highly variable, ranging from 1.2% to 99.7% across the top origin countries., A bar chart displaying the Refugee Recognition Rate for the top 10 countries of origin in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for the year 2024. The countries are ordered by the total number of decisions made.

Statistical Analysis: - Overview: The chart covers 10 distinct countries of origin. The decision volume is highly skewed, with the maximum total decisions reaching 47,056, while the median is significantly lower at 1,063, indicating that one or two specific nationalities dominate the asylum caseload. - Recognition Rates: There is a stark disparity in outcomes based on nationality. The recognition rate ranges from a minimum of 1.18% to a maximum of 99.7%. - Distribution: The median recognition rate is 13.5%, while the mean is 39.9%. This gap, alongside a standard deviation of 41.1%, suggests a polarized landscape where some nationalities almost universally receive protection (upper quartile is 79.1%), while others rarely do.

AI Insight: Bar chart of refugee recognition rates for nationals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo across the top 10 countries of asylum, where rates vary significantly from 14.7% to 88.9%., This bar chart displays the 2024 refugee recognition rates for nationals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo for the top 10 countries of asylum. The countries are selected and ordered based on the total volume of asylum decisions processed (Total Decided), which ranges from approximately 28,400 to 190,600 cases. The chart highlights a substantial disparity in recognition outcomes across these major host countries. The recognition rates range from a minimum of 14.7% to a maximum of 88.9%, with a mean rate of 52.0% and a high standard deviation of 32.3%, indicating that the likelihood of being recognized as a refugee varies heavily depending on the country of asylum.

Solutions

Solutions and Pathways in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

In the complex displacement landscape of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the pursuit of durable solutions—comprising voluntary repatriation, local integration, and resettlement—remains defined by resilience amidst sharp volatility. Behind the stark numbers lies a narrative of a protection system that buckled under global pressures before mounting a significant, albeit fragile, recovery.

The data reveals a distinct V-shaped trajectory in the availability of solutions between 2019 and 2024. Following a period of relative stability in 2019, the operational environment deteriorated, likely exacerbated by the global pandemic and regional instability. This contraction culminated in 2021, where the mean volume of solutions plummeted to a low of approximately 267,000. However, a concerted mobilization of humanitarian efforts and diplomatic engagement spurred a robust turnaround. By 2024, the response reached a historic peak, with solution figures rising to a mean of over 594,000. This constitutes a dramatic rebound, although the high statistical variability across these years suggests that these gains are driven by large-scale, sporadic movements rather than uniform progress across all regions.

Analyzing the interplay between refugee recognitions and realized solutions offers further insight into the burden on the protection system. Generally, the volume of solutions has exceeded the number of new refugee recognitions, signaling a positive net movement toward resolving displacement. However, the data exposes a critical pressure point in 2021. During this period, while solution pathways were at their most constrained, refugee recognitions surged to nearly 45,000, significantly outstripping the 29,000 solutions secured. This inversion created a temporary but acute backlog, highlighting how rapidly a sudden influx can overwhelm the capacity to provide lasting outcomes.

While the trend had corrected by 2024, with solutions once again surpassing new recognitions, the outlook remains precarious. Projections for 2025 indicate a potential decline in solution volumes to a mean of roughly 488,000. This anticipated contraction serves as a sobering reminder that the recent momentum is not self-sustaining. Without consistent international funding and renewed political will to address the root causes of conflict, the gap between the needs of the displaced and the availability of durable solutions risks widening once more.

AI Insight: Bar chart displaying trends in solutions for forcibly displaced people in the Dem. Rep. of the Congo from 2019 to 2025, where solution volumes declined to a low in 2021 before recovering to reach a peak in 2024., The visualization depicts trends in solutions for forcibly displaced people across borders, filtered for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, covering the period from 2019 to 2025. The data is presented as a column chart with the Year on the x-axis and numerical values representing solutions on the y-axis.

Statistical analysis reveals a fluctuating trend over the observed period. In 2019, the mean value of solutions was approximately 538,779 (maximum ~2.13M). There was a significant downward trend in the following years, likely influenced by global events, dropping to a mean of 361,052 in 2020 and reaching the lowest point in the dataset in 2021 with a mean of 267,656.

A recovery trend began in 2022 (mean ~306,777) and accelerated in 2023 (mean ~460,879). The trend peaks in 2024, showing the highest recorded figures with a mean of 594,219 and a maximum value of roughly 2.36 million. The data for 2025 indicates a projected decrease, with the mean dropping back to 488,677. The dataset shows high standard deviations relative to the means across all years (e.g., 2024 SD is ~1.18M), suggesting significant variability in the scale of solution events or reporting types within each year.

AI Insight: Line chart of refugee recognitions versus solutions in the Dem. Rep. of the Congo (2019-2024), where solutions generally exceed recognitions, except for a significant spike in recognitions in 2021., The chart illustrates the trends in refugee recognitions compared to available solutions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 2019 through 2024. Generally, the number of solutions (teal) exceeds the number of recognitions (blue). In 2019, solutions stood at 20,766 compared to 11,148 recognitions. A notable drop occurred in 2020, with recognitions falling to just 10, while solutions remained steady around 9,937. The trend reversed sharply in 2021, where recognitions peaked at 44,545, significantly surpassing solutions at 29,258. By 2022, the pattern returned to the baseline, with solutions consistently higher than recognitions. As of 2024, there were 15,466 solutions compared to 7,989 recognitions. Partial data for 2025 shows 8,329 solutions recorded.